The present invention relates to a system and method for remote phytomonitoring and, more particularly, to a system and method which enable a grower to monitor and optionally control plant growth from a remote location.
Cultivation of commercial crops depends on the monitoring of various parameters of a plant or field. For example, maintaining the correct hydration, which is dependent on several factors including irrigation, scheduling and the like is crucial for the proper development of plants and as such, precise monitoring of the hydration, at any given stage of development is advantageous.
In the past growers have mainly relied on their intuition and expertise in assessing crop conditions. This expertise relied mainly on crop and soil inspection and observing the environmental conditions in which the crop was cultivated.
In recent years, growers have increasingly utilized systems and devices which include arrays of precise sensors for measuring the temperature and humidity and other related parameters of the environment and/or soil proximal to the cultivated plants.
The advent of such precise monitoring technologies and methodologies enabled growers to track and record changes in a field or greenhouse enabling close monitoring, in some cases, of a single plant.
For example, recorded sensor data can be analyzed and the resultant data incorporated into a plant hydration profile, such a profile can then be used to assess crop condition and development through daily and seasonal changes. For further details see, for example, Wolf, B. Diagnostic Technique for Improving Crop Production, Haworth Press, P. 185-187.
Although such methodology has substantially enhanced phytomonitoring, it is still difficult to use since it requires periodical on-site collection of the data recorded by the sensors, a task which can be difficult to achieve in cases of large and remote crops.
In addition, the data provided to a grower utilizing present day systems and methods is presented as numerical data. Such presentation can often be difficult to perceive and analyze and as such requires an experienced operator to decipher.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a remote phytomonitoring system and method devoid of the above limitation.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a system for remote monitoring of plants comprising: (a) at least one sensor positioned on, or in proximity to, a plant, the at least one sensor being for collecting data pertaining to at least one plant related parameter; (b) at least one user client being for receiving and optionally processing the data from the at least one sensor to thereby determine a state of the plant; and (c) a communication network being for communicating the data from the at least one sensor to the at least one user client.
According to further features in preferred embodiments of the invention described below, the at least one sensor is selected from the group consisting of an air humidity detector, an air temperature detector, a boundary diffusion layer resistance detector, a solar radiation detector, a soil moisture detector and a soil temperature detector.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the at least one sensor is selected from the group consisting of a leaf temperature detector, a flower temperature detector, a fruit surface temperature detector, a stem flux relative rate detector, a stem diameter variation detector, a fruit growth rate detector and a leaf CO2 exchange detector.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the at least one sensor includes at least one environmental sensor selected from the group consisting of an air humidity detector, an air temperature detector, a boundary diffusion layer resistance detector, a solar radiation detector, a soil moisture detector and a soil temperature detector, and at least one plant sensor selected from the group consisting of a leaf temperature detector, a flower temperature detector, a fruit surface temperature detector, a stem flux relative rate detector, a stem diameter variation detector, a fruit growth rate detector and a leaf CO2 exchange detector.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the at least one sensor includes a transmitter being for transmitting a signal including the data.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the at least one sensor includes a receiver being for receiving a command signal.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the at least one sensor includes a data storage device being for storing the collected data.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the communication network is selected from the group consisting of a telephone network, a cellular telephone network, a computer network and a satellite network.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the communication network integrates wire and wireless communication.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the at least one sensor includes a plurality of sensors each being in communication with the at least one user client.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the system further comprising a data concentrator being in communication with each of the plurality of sensors and being for relaying the data collected thereby to the at least one user client.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the communication between the data concentrator and each of the plurality of sensors is effected via wire or wireless communication.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the wireless communication is selected from the group consisting of infrared communication, and radiofrequency communication.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the at least one user client is selected from the group consisting of a PDA and a computer.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the system further comprising at least one device being in communication with the at least one user client via the communication network, the device being for modifying the state of the plant or crop including the plant.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the device is selected from the group consisting of an irrigation device and a climate controller.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of remote monitoring of plants comprising the steps of: (a) collecting on-site data pertaining to at least one plant related parameter; (b) relaying the data to a remote user client via a communication network; and (c) processing the data to thereby determine a state of the plants.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments step (a) is effected by at least one sensor positioned on, or in proximity to, a plant.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the communication network is selected from the group consisting of a telephone network, a cellular telephone network, a computer network and a satellite network.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the communication network integrates wire and wireless communication.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a phytosensor comprising: (a) a sensing unit being for collecting data pertaining to a plant related parameter; and (b) a transmitter being for generating a signal including the data.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the phytosensor further comprising a data storage device being for storing the data collected by the sensing unit.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the data collected by the sensing unit is selected from the group consisting of air humidity data, air temperature data, wind speed or boundary diffusion layer resistance data, solar radiation data, soil moisture data, soil temperature data, leaf temperature data, flower temperature data, fruit surface temperature data, stem flux relative rate data, stem diameter variation data, fruit growth rate data and leaf CO2 exchange data.
The present invention successfully addresses the shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing a phytomonitoring system which enables a grower to monitor and optionally control plant growth from a remote location.